


Of Wolves and Steel

by EgoDominusTuus



Series: Like Good Soldiers [18]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Blind Betrayal spoilers, Gen, Psychic Wolves, Psychic Wolves For Lupercalia, Wolfpup
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-13
Updated: 2016-02-13
Packaged: 2018-05-20 05:20:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5992999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EgoDominusTuus/pseuds/EgoDominusTuus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><s>Paladin</s> Danse found a brother when he thought he'd lost them all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Wolves and Steel

All that he knows is that  _ everything  _ is hurting, because everything is different. His training as a soldier sent him racing from the Prydwen after Haylen’s warning, but that adrenaline is slowly fading away at the knowledge that  _ everything he knew  _ was a lie. Everything he thought he was, everything that he’d ever meant to be. 

  Nothing made sense anymore. 

  Danse had only known to run, and he only knew one safe place to go to. He and Haylen had discovered a bunker during their recon missions, and they were the only ones who knew about it. He would go there, he would take the time to think-- but already, he was realizing that turning himself in to the Brotherhood for proper punishment would be the path he would take. He couldn’t be an exception, and he wouldn’t disgrace the name that he’d made for himself. Still, the fight or flight instinct was strong, and it spurred him forward to the bunker. There was something waiting there for him, even if it was just a minute of peace and solitude before he went to meet his fate. He couldn’t think of what he’d be leaving behind - because if he took a second to imagine a world with green and blue eyes looking at him in shock and disapproval, he’d lose his nerve.

  Danse took only a moment to make sure that the turrets outside of the bunker were still functional - he’d turn them on before he went down the elevator to secure the location. When he stepped into the door, his fingers twitched for the rifle that he’d left behind on the Prydwen. Something moved in front of the door, and Danse feared for a moment that he’d be taken out by a feral before he had the chance to do what was right.

  But that something wasn’t a ghoul, and when his eyes locked with exhausted but wary circles of green, something inside of him seemed to spill forward. The wolf was barely more than a pup, and Danse was walking forward without realizing it. 

  Something in his world was changing and shifting, crashing down around him only to be built back up like a new beginning in his chest. The wolf took a few steps forward and put its head against his leg, those green eyes staring up at him with a sense of  _ finally, you’re here.  _ Black fur stuck matted to its body, coated in its mother’s blood. He came to his knees without thinking, and his hands came out gathering the bundle of black in his arms. Warmth spilled from his chest against the black fur, and in turn, the pups warmth spilled back into the hollow emptiness where  _ Paladin Danse  _ used to be. It was filling him up with something altogether different, and he didn’t realize until now that he’d been missing it all along.

  Other members of the Brotherhood had bonded with their wolves early on. Danse had never thought it odd that he didn’t - he was a lonewolf himself, and he didn’t want the worry of attachments that bonding would bring. But now… now he realized that he’d been yearning for it all along. There was a sense of  _ pack  _ and  _ home  _ and  _ belonging _ that nothing had triggered inside of him before. His eyes flickered down to the grey mass that laid curled at the door - she couldn’t have been dead for more than a day, and he recognized the holotag collar that she wore. 

  Knight Astlin had called her wolf Maya, and she lay dead at Danse’s feet. The pup in his arms, however, reminded him of Obelix - Paladin Brandis’ wolfbrother. Dark fur covered its body, so that it was like an inkspot against the orange of his uniform. Though it was still a young thing, its large paws told him that the small wolf would grow to be as big as his father, if given the chance. It was only the green eyes that gave way to the pups,  _ his pups _ , mother. A longing sense of sorrow and pain, backed with relief and a sensation of  _ belonging  _ was radiating from the small ball of fur, and Danse carefully moved its mother’s body aside. 

  “I’ll bury her proper once we’ve secured the base.”

  He knew that something inside of him was changing. There was no longer a thought of  _ turning myself in _ , but a thought of  _ how can I keep him safe _ . The tiny pup was already snuggling against the warmth of his chest and giving thoughts of comfort, the scent of  _ power armor grease and fancy lad snack cakes  _ it’s new favorite thing. Danse flicked one last look at Maya, and he realized why Brandis must have been so broken - he hadn’t seen Obelix when he’d returned to the ship. He hadn’t thought about it then, but realizing now that something inside of him would  _ break  _ if the black bundle in his arms was taken away… 

  He understood.

  The elevator carried him down to the lower floor of the bunker, and he made his way to the back. Bed sheets and his water supply were used to clean up the trembling bundle of fur, and with the last swipe of the cloth, he could see that underneath the solid black, close to the base of his skin, a dusting of light gray spilled across his skin. He was  _ beautiful.  _ And he was the beginning of something new.

  “Genesis, hm?” A beginning. He couldn’t go back to Maxon now, because he could feel Genisis lick his hand, a warm, soft swipe that begged to know why he felt so broken. Why he felt the  _ same _ as the pup himself, who had clearly lost everything.

  “We both have.” Danse murmured softly, sitting on the bed beside the little black ball, all the fluffier for having just been washed. Genesis stood erect, his long tail sweeping out, and marched onto Danse’s lap like he was marking his territory. The former Paladin laughed, pulling the pup close. They were both broken, indeed. But maybe things weren’t completely  _ lost, _ because looking down into his wolfbrother’s eyes, Danse couldn’t help but to feel a sense of  _ belonging _ . 

  The Brotherhood of Steel had given him a purpose, but Genesis was giving him a sense of something so much more. He would die to protect the little ball in his arms, and he knew that the wolf returned the sentiment - it didn’t matter that he was a synth, or that he wasn’t a  _ man.  _ Clearly, wolves could delve deeper than the outer facets of the human impression to see that even a synth had a soul. 

  Maybe there was hope after all.


End file.
